Launch video of MyVaps Indiegogo campaign

CVS Stops Selling Tobacco: Are e-Cigarettes The Future?

Here we are! CVS has decided to stop selling tobacco in its pharmacies as of October. Will other big players follow their steps? What ever the reason supporting the decision, it will mean a big chunk of revenue gone up in smoke. So the question becomes: how do we make up for it? The industry might well find the answer in a new way of lighting up a cigarette known as "vaping".

Vaping has become a huge phenomenon in Europe where 23 million people have already embraced this new habit. The U.S. is following the path with probably 5 to 8 million "vapers" and with numbers doubling every year. Sales are reported to have reached $700 million last July and approached $2 billion in 2013. This trend, which seems to have passed the simple status of a fad, has pushed the third-largest U.S. tobacco manufacturer Lorillard to buy a prominent manufacturer of electronic cigarettes for $135 million, Blu Ecigs, in 2012. As per Lorillard, other major international actors of the tobacco industry might see in the e-cigarette a new blue ocean, a way for them to compensate for a gloomy cigarette market.

Although the debate is sill opened among experts to figure out whether e-cigs are safe, or at least safer than traditional cigarettes, regulators have taken different views. For instance in Europe, where lobbies were strong to make it considered as a tobacco substitute for tobacco cessation, regulators have decided that the electronic cigarette was safe enough to be sold in specialized shops and online stores instead of pharmacies. In the U.S., many states have passed laws prohibiting the sale of e-cigs to minors less than 18-years old and by-laws like in New York City prohibit vaping in public places. These laws are favorably supported by manufacturers such as Blu Ecigs, making a point to be perceived as socially responsible enterprises.

It is needless to say that regulators will have a hard time to go against this phenomenon that is now affecting millions of citizens around the world. But what regulators and health authorities might be interested in is to find out how vaping affects their health. The issue is then "how do we measure how much nicotine and other substances an individual absorbs?" Although it was quite easy to have an idea of one's own cigarette consumption per day, vaping doesn't provide this possibility. Except for knowing how many times the e-cig is refilled, there is no clear reference to how much is consumed like it is for regular cigarettes.

This lack of feedback on vape consumption opens new opportunities to startups to innovate and surf on the wave of the Internet of Things. France is way ahead in this matter and will see the first connected electronic cigarette launched onto the market in March 2014. The French startup Smokio has presented its connected e-cig at CES in Las Vegas this year, which was a great success. The product is well thought and nicely presented. Although it is pricy and shows some weaknesses, such as its battery life, it is providing a new experience to vapers who want to know more about their vaping habits. A mobile application gives a precise feedback on how much nicotine has been inhaled, when and where the e-cig was used, etc.

On the footsteps of  Smokio, another French startup, MyVaps, is launching a universal solution that connects any electronic cigarette to a smartphone, meaning that vapers will not have to change their e-cig to monitor their vaping habits. MyVaps will not require to be charged and will operate continuously without draining the battery. It will be a simple and easy way to control one's vaping and share vaping experiences with the community.

It seems that we stand at the premises of a new era where the ancient smoking tradition and technology will meet for the better of smokers and non-smokers alike.

A Tweet a Day Keeps the Doctors Away

Courtesy of: Allied Health World

mHealth : notre santé dans la poche ?

La mobilité dans le secteur de la santé est devenue un domaine qui suscite de grandes attentes et provoque beaucoup d’effervescence. Bien que naissant, ce phénomène ne relève déjà plus des spéculations et des vagues projets discutés lors de réunions obscures de jeunes pousses ou de labos de recherche de plus grandes entreprises. Il a même désormais un
terme pour le caractériser : mHealth, voire mSanté en français. Plus concrètement il s’agit de tous les services touchant de près ou de loin à la santé disponibles en permanence via un appareil mobile connecté à un réseau ; les plus répandus auprès du grand public étant les smartphones ou plus récemment encore les tablettes informatiques (plus de 18.900 applications pour l’iPhone et l’iPad).

Le développement du mHealth connaît donc une accélération fulgurante. Ainsi les plus grands acteurs de l’informatique se pressent sur la question. Bill Gates, fondateur de Microsoft, était par exemple un intervenant clé du mHealth Summit 2010 où il y déclara : « Les technologies informatiques ont apporté beaucoup aux systèmes de santé, mais essentiellement dans un premier temps au domaine de la recherche [...] Dans le cas du téléphone portable, il y a une chance d’aller au-delà et en fait d’être là avec le patient dans la clinique, qui peut ou ne pas être doté d’un médecin pleinement qualifié pou traiter son problème [...] Les téléphones portables sont des outils incroyables. Pour certains d’entre nous, ils permettent d’assurer le contact. Pour des millions d’autres, ils pourraient leurs permettre de rester en vie. » [1]

Autre exemple, la United Nations Foundation dans son rapport intitulé “mHealth for developement : the opportunity of mobile technology for healthcare in the developing world” concluait dès 2009 « le champ du mHealth est arrivé à un tournant. Avec des douzaines de projets implémentés et de bénéfices prouvés, toutes les tendances indiquent que les investissements vont se maintenir et que le mHealth touchera une frange toujours plus large de la population dans les années à venir. » [2]

Les analystes économiques sont également enthousiastes. Pour Technavio, spécialiste des analyses des marchés des technologies émergentes, le marché mondial des applications mobiles santé croîtra à un taux annuel moyen de 24% entre 2010 et 2011. Ils précisent en ajoutant que le point central de cette dynamique sera à chercher du côté du suivi des patients à distance. Pour avoir une idée, il est prévu que ce seul segment du marché du mHealth atteindra 9,3 Mds$ en 2014. [3]

Nous le voyons, les opportunités techniques offertes par ces technologies se concrétisent commercialement en rencontrant parfaitement la demande, que cela soit du côté des professionnels du soin comme des consommateurs en attente de nouveaux services dans ce domaine-là comme ils en ont déjà reçu dans les autres (services bancaires, tourisme, jeux, etc.)

[1] http://www.mhealthsummit.org/
[2] http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions-files.org/unf_website/assets/publications/technology/mhealth/mHealth_conclusion.pdf
[3] http://mobihealthnews.com/12743/global-mobile-health-app-market-to-grow-24-percent/